This Policy Memorandum (PM) supplements and supersedes preceding 3rd Party Worksite PMs and continues the Trump Thumping of the H1B program to further the Buy American and Hire American Executive Order under the scheme of protecting U.S. workers. The PM compels USCIS officers to request detailed documentation to ensure an employer-employee relationship exists and is maintained while an employee is working at a third-party worksite and encourages the review of prior 3rd party worksite petitions to confirm prior compliance as the location of work may change.
U.S. employers avail themselves of the H-1B visa program to acquire specific specialized knowledge obtained by a specific specialty degree possessed by a foreign employee not found with U.S. workers. This PM encourages H1B adjudicating officers to probe employers for 3rd party worksite compliance and require contracts and itineraries for employees who will work at a third-party location.
The PM innocuously seems to require a H-1B 3rd party worksite petitioner to show by a preponderance of evidence:
- The beneficiary will be employed in a specialty occupation; and
- The employer will maintain an employer-employee relationship
with the beneficiary for the duration of the requested validity period.
But, the PM goes further encouraging officers to phish for evidence when enforcing regulatory requirements relating to H-1B petitions filed for workers who will be employed at one or more third-party worksites and to limit 3rd party worksite approvals to less than the 3 years available. Under the guise of affirming the beneficiary will not be placed in speculative work and the petitioner will maintain its employer-employee relationship.
The Litwin & Smith H1B team has expertise to provide best practice guidance and filing strategies when preparing H-1B petitions to successfully navigate the increasingly complex H-1B process in light of changes to H1B adjudications under President Trump Thumping including: “Buy American and Hire American” Executive Order and the 2017 USCIS Computer Programmer Policy Memorandum. In addition, to Level 1 and Level 2 Wage Scrutiny, Specialty Occupation and Establishing Degree Requirements, Practical Implications of “Buy American and Hire American” Executive Order, and the Employer-Employee Relationship: Consulting Companies, Multiple Worksites, and Offsite Employment.
We at Litwin & Smith represent employers in most of the various industries represented around the Bay Area with clients across the U.S. and around the world. We are a boutique immigration law firm representing large and small business clients. Our firm is a nationally recognized premiere employment immigration firm.
The H1B is the most often employer sponsored U.S. employment authorization. We are very successful in preparing and obtaining nonimmigrant visas for employers and subsequent immigrant visas and green cards for their employees. We prepare hundreds of such petitions each year. We offer excellent service at a competitive price. Of course, price isn’t everything. We are known for our availability, responsiveness, timeliness, professionalism and expertise. You can find out more about the H1B visa here.
